Which order includes grasshoppers and crickets, with chewing mouthparts and four straight wings?

Which order includes grasshoppers and crickets, with chewing mouthparts and four straight wings?

• A. Orthoptera
• B. Hemiptera
• C. Homoptera
• D. Dictyoptera

Answer: (A)

Combining mouthpart type with wing structure helps identify grasshoppers and crickets. They have chewing mouthparts designed for grinding plant material, and they possess two pairs of wings—the front pair is tough and straight-edged (tegmina) to protect the hind wings, which are membranous and folded beneath. This arrangement results in four wings that are notable for their straight, rigid front wings. That specific combination is characteristic of the orthopterans, which include grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, and katydids, and is the best match for the description. Other groups have different mouthparts and wing forms—such as piercing-sucking mouthparts in some insects with mixed-wing coverings, or different wing shapes in cockroaches and mantids—so they don’t fit this description as well.

Combining mouthpart type with wing structure helps identify grasshoppers and crickets. They have chewing mouthparts designed for grinding plant material, and they possess two pairs of wings—the front pair is tough and straight-edged (tegmina) to protect the hind wings, which are membranous and folded beneath. This arrangement results in four wings that are notable for their straight, rigid front wings. That specific combination is characteristic of the orthopterans, which include grasshoppers, crickets, locusts, and katydids, and is the best match for the description. Other groups have different mouthparts and wing forms—such as piercing-sucking mouthparts in some insects with mixed-wing coverings, or different wing shapes in cockroaches and mantids—so they don’t fit this description as well.